


Wearing a Crown of Flowers Doesn't Make You a Prince (But Something Else Might)

by RamenCat



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gwaine Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Gwaine is just pining, M/M, Pining, i wrote this in 2017 let me live, not necessarily requited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23698423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RamenCat/pseuds/RamenCat
Summary: Arthur and his knights(and Merlin) have a chance encounter with a grove of fae. They pay particular attention to Merlin. Gwaine swoons.
Relationships: Gwaine/Merlin (Merlin)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 319





	Wearing a Crown of Flowers Doesn't Make You a Prince (But Something Else Might)

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in 2017 and just found it in the depths of my google drive... just take it

“Sire, please listen to me. These creatures are powerful. They may not look intimidating, and they are of no threat unless threatened themselves. However, when they are…” Merlin trailed off, and Arthur raised an eyebrow. The vague explanation clearly would not suffice, and Gwaine sighed. An almost grave expression overtook his face, sheerly contrasting the daisy crown atop his head. He’d have to vouch for Merlin, he supposed.

“Sire, I've had to deal with fae before,” Gwaine said. “The little blighters are irritating, but it's better to just do what they want you to. Otherwise,” he winced. “Let us just say that being a frog is not an altogether pleasant experience.” Arthur balked at this statement, and lowered his sword. The fae tittered, immediately setting to work on adorning the prince with wildflowers of every variety. A disproportionate amount of fairies were crowding around Merlin. In contrast to the way they darted around Arthur, they alighted upon the manservant with all the grace and calm of trained creatures. The boy was grinning wildly, his face awash with awe and wonder. They chattered into his ears, giggling like schoolgirls.

“Arthur, they want me to come with them.”

“Absolutely not.” Merlin adopted a withering look.

“Sire,” Merlin said, with the patronizing quality of one explaining something to a particularly slow child, “They will do no harm. It'll only be a moment, and to refuse an invitation is a grave offense to fairies.” Arthur wondered how on earth Merlin knew so much about fae, and how he could understand their chittering nonsense. He continued to fail to draw the obvious conclusion. Gwaine thought about how nice Merlin looked surrounded by the ethereal creatures.

“Fine then,” Arthur scoffed. “But if you end up a toad, don't come crawling to me.” Merlin’s smile returned, and he walked off. The fairies continued to flit about, occasionally alighting upon the knights and adding to their floral adornments. They seemed to have taken a particular liking to Percival, Lancelot, and, most surprising of all to the group, Gwaine.

“Aren't faires supposed to be attracted to those who are pure of heart?” Elyan asked, raising a doubtful eyebrow at Gwaine.

“Oi, I'll have you know I'm purer than mountain spring water.” This provoked a barrage of laughter from the men, sans Arthur. Arthur was still weirded out. They were still surrounded by magic, after all. Conversation continued, with the knights talking and laughing for the better part of an hour.

Gwaine trailed off in the middle of a joke as Merlin walked back into the clearing, taken aback by his appearance. His hair was long now, cascading halfway down his back in complicated and beautiful braids, littered with blue, purple, and white flowers. He wore a marvelous cape of swan feathers, layered over a tunic woven of ivy and leaves. It stopped before his knees, but ivy wrapped around his thighs, continuing downwards to curl around his ankles. A light flush adorned his cheekbones, and his face bore a somewhat bemused smile. Gwaine thought that he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. He opened his mouth to say so, but ended up gaping like a dying fish.

“Nice cape, Merlin,” Percival said, not unkindly. Arthur’s dumbfounded expression was quite a sight to see.

“Yes, well, they decided to give me it as a gift.. In return, for, ah,” Merlin stuttered for a second. “My gentle nature? Whatever that means.” Gwaine judged the sorcerer’s lying skills as, overall, rather pathetic. If not for Merlin’s unassuming nature, he was convinced that he would have been found out ages ago. He’d considered telling Merlin he’d figured it out, but decided that he didn’t want to freak him out too much; the idiot would probably run off before Gwaine could explain that he didn’t really care. And Gwaine did  _ not  _ want Merlin to leave.

“Figures they’d like you so much Merlin. You are  _ such _ a girl,” Arthur announced. Merlin gave an internal sigh of relief, but Gwaine nearly laughed aloud. Arthur was such an idiot for a prince.

“Yes, well, they actually said we’re free to go, so, there’s that,” Merlin said. Arthur looked mildly shocked by the looks of disappointment on a few of the knights’ faces. He would likely be lecturing them later.

“So, we just, what, leave?” Elyan asked.

“Apparently. They might follow us until we exit this grove though,” Merlin replied. Their departure passed rather uneventfully, and Gwaine sighed to himself. He knew that the other knights of Camelot didn’t know what magic looked like, but, really, he questioned how he could be surrounded by such idiots.


End file.
